Just Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider...

 Last year, we had one of these cool spiders hanging out (literally...) in our youngest's bedroom window well. I'd check on the spider every night as I took out the dog to make sure it was still there. Then, one day, it was gone...don't know what happened, just...gone.

Looks like we've got another guest.

This spider isn't next to the house, but in our planter boxes. It's hanging around like the last one, suspended in air by its web, waiting for food. 

Even though I would not want this little thing to be crawling on me, I love seeing it there. The importance of spiders cannot be overstated. Last year in the spring we paid for a service to kill bugs close to the house. I'm no scientist, but I think it did us a disservice. It seemed we had more mosquitoes last summer...no spiders to eat them. I think the mosquito season hasn't hit its peak yet, but this summer has been much better...without the bug-killing service.

Like I said, I'm no scientist and I have no solid data to back up my theories. 

Either way, I'm glad it's hanging around.